


2006

by Stressedtoimpress



Series: Heathers [5]
Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Betty Finn is here too but she’s only mentioned cause they can’t all work at the school, Canon Relationships, Canon Universe, First Day of School, Friendship, Future Fic, Gen, Ghost Heather Chandler, Ghosts, Heather Duke doesn’t have a kid tho, Heather Mac had a daughter at seventeen too, Heather McNamara likes to talk about her past because she feels inadequate in the present, Heather Sawyer is salty, High School, I suck at tagging, Mostly inspired by the musical but also inspired by the movie, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Moving, Platonic Relationships, Post-Canon, Single Parents, Small Towns, Takes place September first 2006, Veronica had a daughter, Veronica is trying, but that’s not important, but they only mention relationships like once, but you probably already knew that, guess what it’s actually JD’s kid, idk - Freeform, it’s mentioned once, read the notes, seveteen years later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-04-30 21:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14505699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stressedtoimpress/pseuds/Stressedtoimpress
Summary: 17 year old Heather Sawyer doesn’t want to move to Sherwood Ohio, but guess what? Her mom is making her. Her mother, Veronica Sawyer, is rather reluctant to move there as well, but hey, it’s her hometown, Gotta return to your roots! (actually they’re losing money and need to downsize, but Heather is ignoring that). It’s her first day of senior year at Westerburg high, and she is rather surprised that everyone knows her mom. She soon begins to realize that her mother has more history in this town than she first let on to.





	2006

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [After 1989](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8426680) by [lightlysaltedapples](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightlysaltedapples/pseuds/lightlysaltedapples). 



> Okay so Veronica got pregnant with JD’s kid and didn’t realize till like the middle of senior year. She was so smart though she had gotten all her high school credits done and several college credits so technically she didn’t even have to go to school anymore so she just stopped going to school at that point. 
> 
> There were rumors that she was pregnant but she didn’t even leave her house so no one could confirm. She got a scholarship to Harvard and moved to Massachusetts and Heather Sawyer was born there. 
> 
> Heather Mac, Betty Finn, and Martha were the only students that knew she was having a kid but neither of them knew what the kid was gonna be named so they’re surprised that she’s named Heather.
> 
> Veronica was really well known in Sherwood because it’s a small town, she was popular and she made it out. She made it out of the dead end town and into Harvard, so when she comes back everyone is surprised she has returned. They aren’t surprised she has a seventeen year old kid though, because like I said, rumors.
> 
> Heather Mac became the new guidance counselor after Mrs. Fleming retired, Martha ended up as an English teacher, and Heather Duke and Betty Finn just got jobs locally. Nobody has left except for Veronica.

*READ THE NOTES IF YOU WANT SOME BACKSTORY*  
  
  
  
    Veronica stepped on the brakes and the car stopped with a screech as they pulled into the driveway of their new house.  
  
    “Here we are!” Veronica said, stepping out of the car and blocking the sun with her eyes.  
  
    Heather stayed in the car and leaned her head against the window. She didn’t want to get up, she was still in denial that they ever had to move in the first place. Veronica came by and opened the door anyways.  
  
   “Come on hun, we only have a few more boxes to unpack. Then we have to get you to the first day of school!”  
  
   “I don’t want to,” Heather said as she reluctantly stepped out of the car.  
  
   “Oh come on, you don’t even do anything on the first day of school, you just get a tour or whatever. Besides, shouldn’t it be fun to go to the same high school your mother did?”  
  
   “No, that’s exactly why I don’t want to go!”  
  
   “Oh, don’t be like that! It’ll be fun, now come on!”  
  
    Heather followed her mother into the house and they unpacked the last of their boxes. As she hung her last poster on the wall she thought that it would look more like her home back in Massachusetts, but it didn’t. It looked like a small one story house in the middle of nowhere—also known as Sherwood, Ohio. At that point the clock read 8:30 and it was time for them to head off for her first day at Westerburg High.  
  
    Veronica pulled into Westerburg 15 minutes later as was greeted by a woman who looked about the same age as Veronica with a head full of blonde curls. Heather sighed as they embraced. She was planning on heading inside and hiding in the bathroom, but her mom pulled her over and introduced her to the woman.  
  
    “Heather, this is my friend Heather,” she paused and then realized what she had just said. “also. But you can refer to her as Ms. McNamara. She’s the guidance counselor here.”  
  
    Ms. McNamara stuck out her hand and Heather reluctantly shook it.  
  
    “Hi, I’m Ms. McNamara, but you can just call me Ms. M!”  
  
    “Is this the friend you named me after, because she doesn’t look very dead to me.” Heather remarked to her mother  
  
    “Uh, no. That’s a different Heather you’re thinking of. Heather Chandler.” Veronica replied   
  
    “So you named her after Heather, huh? Wait until Heather hears about this! Ms. M laughed. She put two fingers under Heather’s chin. “Wow, she looks so much like you!”

  
    “Jesus Christ, how many Heathers do you know?” Heather retorted, shooting Veronica a look.   
  
    “Hey, Don’t be like that! Why don’t you head inside?” Veronica gave Heather a shove toward the school building.    
  
    Heather groaned and stomped off into the building, hearing Veronica and Ms. continue to talk. She was pretty sure she heard something about this ‘Heather Chandler’ character she hears so much about. When she stepped into the building she was greeted by kids running around in an out of rooms and chattering away. A round woman with the a long brown ponytail and pink glasses walked up to her and handed her some kind of pamphlet.   
  
    “Hey there, how old are you and what’s your name?” The woman asked.   
  
    Heather blinked, observing the woman and wondering if she should just make a run for it.    
  
    “Hello?”   
  
    “Um, I’m seventeen and my name’s Heather Sawyer.”   
  
    The woman’s face lit up. “Oh! You’re Veronica’s kid aren’t you!”   
  
    “Uh, yeah, how did you-”   
  
    Heather was cut off by the woman tightly hugging her.   
  
    “Hi, could you like, not? I don’t know you.”   
  
    “Right, sorry, it’s just so exciting to finally see you!”   
  
    “Finally?”   
  
    “Of course! I knew Veronica was having a kid, but she took off before they were born,” she paused for a moment. “Funny she picked Heather.”   
  
    “Yeah, sure is ‘funny’. How’d you know I was Veronica’s kid?”   
  
    “Well, you’re last name’s Sawyer of course! Everyone knows there’s only been one Sawyer family to come out of Sherwood, and they only had one kid, and that’s Ronnie! Besides, you look like her! But of course you do have a strong jawline, do you know who the father is?”   
  
    “No, my mother slept around a lot in her senior year. What’s with all the personal questions?”   
  
    “Sorry, sorry. It’s just- I was one of your mother’s best friends, there’s so much to catch up on!”   
  
    “Wait, let me guess, Heather?”   
  
    The woman laughed nervously. “I wish. My name’s Ms. Dunnstock, I’m an English teacher here, but since you’re Veronica’s kid, you can call me Martha!”   
  
    “Yeah no, it’s weird to call a teacher by their first name, especially if they were you parent’s friend. Honestly I’m surprised you aren’t named Heather.”   
  
    Martha shifted uncomfortably. “Well, she had other friends that weren’t named Heather.”   
  
   “Such as?”   
  
    “Well, me, obviously, uh, Betty Finn, Kurt and Ram if you really want to count them...and then there was JD, but...” her voice trailed off. “Anyways, it’s great to meet you! We should catch up sometime!”   
  
    “Yeah totally,” Heather lied before walking off. As soon as Martha’s back was turned she tossed the pamphlet into the nearest trash bin and started to head for the bathroom where she planned to hide the entire time. Today was optional so they weren’t going to mark her absent or anything.   
  
    She slipped into the girl’s bathroom as another teacher ushered ther rest of the students down one of the hallways and into the gym. She was safe. Now all she had to do was wait.   
  
    She sat down and leaned against the wall, counting the floor tiles to pass the time. Only seven hours to go.   
  
    Someone else entered the bathroom. She was about to scramble to hide, but it was too late for that, so she just remained where she was. Surprisingly, the girl sat next to her rather than heading into a stall. Heather said nothing.   
  
    “Hey,” the girl said to her. Heather glanced over at the girl but did not say anything. She had brown eyes and was yet another person with a head full of platinum blonde curls. She wore your standard t-shirt and jeans, but was carrying at least three binders of paper.   
  
    “Hello? You deaf? What’s your name?” The girl inquired.   
  
    “Heather Sawyer,” Heather answered reluctantly.   
  
    The girl’s face lit up. “You Veronica’s kid?”   
  
    “Oh no, how did you know?” Heather asked sarcastically, with an extra spoonful of snark.   
  
    The girl laughed. “I’m assuming you get that a lot.”   
  
    “I’ve been here for less than an hour and you’re the second person, third if you count Ms. M saying I look like her. Who are you anyways?”   
  
    “Ashley McNamara. I run the school newspaper.”   
  
    “McNamara? Like...?”   
  
    “Heather McNamara? Yep. That’s my mom.”   
  
    “So how did you know who my mom was anyways? I mean, sure the adults would, but another student?”   
  
    “Well, your mom is very well known around here, and I run the school newspaper, it’s kind of my job to know all about the school, past present and future. My mom also likes to talk about her past a lot. Her, Veronica and two other girls named Heather ruled the school when they were seniors. Very well known.”   
  
    “Okay ‘Ashley’, how old are you?”   
  
    “Seventeen.”   
  
    “Oh, me too.”

 

    There was a silence before it hit Heather.

 

   “Wait, were you were born when your mom was a senior too?”

  
    “Yeah. So who’s your father?”   
  
    “We don’t know. You?”   
  
    Ashley looked disappointed. “Uh, Kurt Kelly. The quarterback.” She replied.   
  
    “Are your parents still together?”   
  
    Ashley sighed. “No...they never really were together. Besides, turns out he didn’t swing that way in the first place.”   
  
   “Oh. Wait,  _ didn’t _ ? As in past tense?”

  
    “Yep, him and his best friend killed themselves because they actually turned out to be gay for each other.”   
  
    “Oh, wow.”   
  
    “Yep. I’m assuming you don’t want to be here any more than I do.”   
  
    “No shit, Sherlock. Why else would I be sitting on the bathroom floor instead of being bored to death in the gym?”

  
    “Well, I’m just warning you, you can’t stay in one bathroom for long, people are gonna look for you after they take attendance, and someone’s gonna find you and rat you out. I speak from experience.”   
  
    “‘Kay.”   
  
    “Welp, I have to go give a speech now, seeing as I run the newspaper. See ‘ya around Heather!”   
  
    Ashley stood up and collected her binders before walking out of the bathroom and down the hall. Her heels mare a clacking sound on the linoleum. Heather waited a good few minutes after she heard the footsteps disappear before deciding she should probably leave.    
  
    She got up and cautiously walked out if the bathroom. The halls were empty and the lights were off, only turning in once she got close to them. It was eerie, gave her the chills. She walked around the halls of the school looking for another bathroom, taking note of where the classrooms were and reading posters. She turned a corner quickly and jumped to see a girl about her age standing before her.   
  
    She was noticeably taller than Heather, and also happened to have a head full of blonde curls (seriously, how common is that around here? What do you wanna bet she’s named Heather, too?) with a hint of red in them, and a piercing pair of cool, green eyes. Normally she wouldn’t question this much, but this girl was strange.   
  
    She wasn’t wearing regular clothes, she was wearing a silk bathrobe and had some kind of blue liquid dripping from her mouth and running down her chin. Heather was busy wondering how they let her in when she decided it would be a good idea to just leave while she can. She turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, but the girl spoke, stopping her in her tracks.   
  
    “You.”   
  
    Heather reluctantly turned around again. “Um, yes?”   
  
    “You saw me?”   
  
    “Yeah, was I not supposed to? ‘Cause you weren’t supposed to see me either. How about I just leave and we forget we ever saw each other? Deal?”   
  
    “How did you-? You aren’t normally able to- Hm.” The girl was muttering something to herself. Her face suddenly lit up, as if she had just been hit with a realization. “Maybe it’s because of-” her hand reached out toward the wall, as if to graze it lightly before she stopped and withdrew her hand. Then, she slowly reached out again and ran her hand against the wall, gasping in surprise.    
  
    “Well, you’re crazy. I’m just gonna go.” Heather began to turn around again when the girl suddenly started coughing behind her.   
  
    “Wait!” The girl managed between coughs. Heather turned around just in time to see the girl cough up a few drops of blue liquid into her hand.   
  
    “Okay, I have so many questions. What is this blue liquid you appear to have ingested, why are you wearing a bathrobe, and why are you here? There’s no way they let you in.”   
  
    “I’m here for the same reason as you, girl, first day of school.”   
  
    Heather sighed. “Why did you come to school in that?!”   
  
    “Hm, a stylistic choice, you could say. You ask too many questions, little girl.” The girl stepped forward ran her hand down Heather’s cheek, her smooth skin icy cold against Heather’s as the girl’s first and middle finger travelled down Heather’s chin and stopped underneath it. The girl tilted Heather’s head upwards and placed her opposite hand on Heather’s cheek.   
  
    Heather winced and stepped back, startled not only by all of this unwanted touching but by the empty and hollow feel of the girl’s hands.   
  
    “Alright, I don’t know where you’re from, but here in America it’s not normal, to just go around  _ feeling _ people you just met!”   
  
    “My apologies. It’s just been so long...” the girl’s voice trailed off as she looked into the distance.   
  
    “Right, well, you’re definitely insane.”   
  
    The girl crossed her arms. “So what if I am?”   
  
    Silence.   
  
    “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, little girl.”   
  
    “Don’t call me ‘little girl,’ I’m the same age as you-”   
  
    The girl laughed. Heather was confused, but just rolled her eyes and continued.   
  
    “-and I have I have a name. It’s Heather by the way. Heather Sawyer.”   
  
    “Oh, I know that.” The girl smirked. “It’s just weird to call you by it.”   
  
    Heather considered asking why it would be weird, but she was more concerned but the former question. “I- whatever, I guess. But, how did you know that? Did you hear it from Ashley?”   
  
   “I knew you’re mother very well.”   
  
   “Congrats, you were the first person to just cut to the chase and assume my mother is Veronica without asking about it.”   
  
   “Oh no, I knew Veronica was your mother from an...outside source.”   
  
    “‘Outside source,’ go figure. Very specific.”   
  
   The girl coughed up a bit more of the blue liquid and wiped her mouth. “God- fucking Sawyer.”    
  
    “Well, I’m gonna go now and be a normal person.” Heather turned again and began to walk, and this time time the girl didn’t stop her.   
  
    “Say hi to your mother for me.”   
  
    “Wait, who even are you?” Heather turned around again to look back at the girl, but she was gone. Heather just scoffed and continued walking in the direction she was going before she ran into the girl. “Fucking wack job...” she muttered.   
  
    She continued to walk the empty halls, and turned a corner into what she assumed was the cafeteria. She slowly walked around the tables and seats, observing the integrity and wear of the place. It appeared to be the only room in the school that hadn’t been renovated.   
  
    She was about to exit out the other side of the cafeteria and into another hallway when she looked back at the cafeteria one more time and noticed three pictures on the wall.

    Above the pictures was a banner that read “We remember the 1989 victims of suicide.”

  
    The first picture was of a boy with a strong build and dark hair wearing a varsity jacket. The plaque underneath it read “Ram Sweeney 1972-1989.”  
  
    The second picture was of a smaller boy with shorter and lighter brown hair. The plaque underneath it read “Kurt Kelly 1972-1989.”  
  
    The third picture caught her eye. It showed a girl in a tight red blazer with an all too familiar pair of green eyes and strawberry blonde curls.  
  
  
  
    The plaque underneath it read “Heather Chandler 1972-1989”  
  



End file.
